• Interesting Facts about Amphibians (3)
• Interesting Facts about Birds (22)
• Interesting Facts about Fishes (9)
• Interesting Facts about Mammals (48)
• Interesting Facts about Reptiles (16)

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Barn Owl

DESCRIPTION: The barn owl is primarily white withyellow and tawny shade and it is freckles of dark specks. The eyes and beak arecompletely encircled by a heart-shaped facial ruff of white feathers rimmedwith tan feathers. SIZE: Approximately 37.5-50 cm. Females usually are larger than males WEIGHT: Approximately 450-560 g FUN FACTS: In the wild, many young barn owls donot survive their first year of life. Some scientists think this may be aresult of breeding and raising large clutches more than once a year, which usesa lot of energy. Barn owl pairs typically stay togetheras long as both members of the pair are alive. They do not create a nest;rather they deposit the eggs in manmade structures such as towers, barns, etc.- often using the site year after year. Farmers and ranchers are increasinglyattracted to the barn owl's ability to control rodents better than traps,poison, or cats. In some Pacific islands they have been introduced for ratcontrol and have been provided with nest boxes in palm groves by locals for thesame purpose. Barn owls are able to consume twice asmuch food as other owls in comparison to their weight. They are able to cover 100 acres each night insearch of food. A single barn owl offspring is able to consume 25,000 mice ayear. They are often seen in barns andagricultural fields which provide them with ample hunting sites. During the daythey find an enclosed area in an old building, hollow tree, or hole in a rockycliff and sleep away the afternoon. Barn owls hunt at night, and althoughthey have very good vision, they rely mostly on their sense of hearing. Owlears are located one higher than the other, increasing sound reception. Duringflight, the left ear captures sounds below while the right ear focuses onsounds from above. In addition, their face feathers createa disc, which works to trap and focus sound. Researchers found that in totalblackness the barn owl is still able to find the smallest of prey because oftheir excellent hearing. Owls' eyes look forward in a fixedposition and cannot move from side to side, as the human eye can. In order tosee peripherally, the owl must turn its entire head. It is a myth that owls can turn theirhead all the way around. Owls have 14 neck vertebrae, allowing them to movetheir head 270 degrees. Barn owls have a serrated comb on themiddle toes claw. So far, scientists believe this to be a grooming adaptation.         Most owls have unique, comb like feathers thatallow for silent flight. The leading edge is "fringed" so that thefeathers, when moving, do not make noise when rubbing together.

Black Swan

DESCRIPTION: As indicated by its name, this speciesof swan has dark body plumage with white feather tips on its wings. The bill isorange-red with a white band near the tip and the eyes are bright red. SIZE: 0.2-1.3 m long WEIGHT: Up to 9 kg FUN FACTS: The term 'swan song' comes from theancient Greek belief that a swan sang a song of death when its life was aboutto end. Male swans are called cobs, females arepens, and young are cygnets. Swans have far more neck vertebrae thanmammals, with 24 or 25 vertebrae; most mammals only have seven. Swans in general have the largest eggsof any flighted bird. Swan parents will carry cygnets ontheir back while swimming, enabling the parents to regain weight lost to therigors of mating, egg laying, incubation, simultaneous feeding, and brooding.This practice also provides protection for the downy cygnets. Swansare known to have a triumph ceremony. Such ceremonies are when a male attacks arival suitor, then returns to his potential mate to perform an elaborateceremony while posturing and calling.

Brown Pelicans

DESCRIPTION: The brown pelican is a large,grayish-brown bird with a blackish belly and a white head and neck. It has along beak with a thin, membranous pouch. SIZE: Approximately 120 cm tall; 210 cm wide WEIGHT: Approximately 2.7-3.18 kg FUN FACTS: Brown pelicans are the only species todive into the water from 30feet above to capture prey. After catching the prey anda lot of water, they tip their bill downward to drain the water beforeswallowing the fish. While brown pelicans are known fordiving, they will never be deep divers due to the extensive system ofsubcutaneous air-sacs that give them theirbuoyancy in the water. The pelican's pouch (gular pouch) isused as a dip net to catch fish, which are soon swallowed into the stomach (thecenter of gravity) so that they can maintain their balance while flying. They have an extendable sac of skin atthe base of their throat, which is capable of holding up to 3 gallons of water,several times more than their belly. Most fossil species of pelican areplaced in the same genus as the modern pelican due to extreme anatomicalsimilarities. This suggests that the present form of pelican has changed verylittle over the past 30-40 million years. The brown pelican, the smallest of thePelecanidae family, can fly up to 30 mph. Its gular pouch may be used to disperseheat as well as to collect fish and rainwater. Brownpelicans are best adapted to living alongside humans. They are frequently seenat fishing ports up and down the coast, opportunistically feeding on fishscraps discarded by fisherman.

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